Research, MSTP and Neurosurgery

[John 117]

Hello everyone, I am a MD/PhD student and I definitely want to incorporate research into my career. For me it is really a question of just how much. Do any of the MD/PhD neurosurgeons in your programs spend more than 50% of their time doing research? How are MD/PhD applicants viewed by neurosurgery programs in general?

I am aware of the extremely long years of training, but I'd rather spend a few extra years training now than be miserable for the rest of my life, if I do end up pursuing neurosurgery. Thanks in advance for your replies.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Encephalectomy]

there are plenty of md/phds in neurosurgery and some residency programs really value the dual degree applicants and almost all programs look for people who have been productive in research. There are jobs post-residency with 50% protected time for research, though they can be hard to land and there is increasing financial pressure on neurosurgery departments that may mean these jobs will be rarer in the future. Many of the more academic residencies offer 2 years of mostly protected time for research. you can look on uncleharvey.com as there are a few threads discussing the pros and cons of trying to be a serious researcher and neurosurgeon at the same time. the people who have the easiest time being succesfull are in the functional epilepsy space where your OR is your lab or at least a decent part of it, though there are plenty of neurosurgeons with active labs investigating a variety of areas (oncology, vascular disease etc.)

 

[John 117]

Thanks for your response. I will check out uncleharvey.com for those discussions.